What’s The Big Deal?

Yes, I have heard this question. Several times this week, in fact, from one of my friends. The first time I heard it , I was speechless for a second. And then I remembered where he is in the trilogy.

Snazzy fan art by Ninitel on DeviantArt

Let’s back track. The subject of conversation between another friend, one who has finished the books, and I for the past couple of weeks is the current hot topic among Hunger Games fans in general. Who is going to play Finnick? Naturally, for someone who is midway through Catching Fire, they would be curious about this character they haven’t met yet. So once my friend learned that this is arguably the most popular character in The Hunger Games he was eager to get to meet Finnick. Once he got to him, however, he asked the question: why is Finnick such a big deal?

“He’s like the Old Spice Guy of Panem.” – friend reading Catching Fire

There are a few things about Finnick’s story that is easy forget. One is that he doesn’t come into the picture until well into Catching Fire. More than halfway. That means he is only in the series for a book and a third, approximately. Another thing is that, unless you have been spoiled, we don’t really know whether or not to trust Finnick right away. Nor do we know anything about his back story until well into Mockingjay.

So when all this talk about “Who is going to play Finnick?!” dominates the headlines for media outlets, from the perspective of the casual fan and “movie only” people and “in the process of finishing the series” fans, it actually might be confusing for them.